eur Dessin left the town, with his daughter, two days later.
He came over to take farewell of me, and expressed himself with
great feeling and heartiness as to the kindness which he was good
enough to say that I had shown him. I assured him, as you may
believe, that the action he had forced Mistress Holliday's suitor
to take left me infinitely his debtor.

"He promised to write to me from France, whither he was about to
return. He said that he regretted much that a vow he had sworn to
keep his name unknown in England, save and except his honour should
compel him to disclose it, prevented him from telling it; but that
he would in the future let me know it. After it was known that he
had left, Sir William Brownlow again attempted to make advances to
your lady mother; but she, who lacks not spirit, repulsed him so
scornfully that all fear of any future entanglement in that quarter
is at an end; at the which I have rejoiced mightily, although the
Chace, now that you have gone, is greatly changed to me.

"Farmer Parsons sends his duty to you, and his love to Hugh. I
think that it would not be ill taken if, in a short time, you were
to write to Mistress Holliday. Make no mention of her broken
espousal, which is a subject upon which she cares not to touch. The
Earl of Marlborough has been good enough to write me a letter
speaking in high terms of you. This I handed to her to read, and
although she said no word when she handed it back, I could see that
she was much moved.

"My pen runs not so fast as it did. I will therefore now conclude.

"YOUR LOVING GRANDFATHER."

This letter gave great pleasure to Rupert, not because it restored
to him the succession of the estates of the Chace, for of that he
thought but little, but because his mother was saved from a match
which would, he felt sure, have been an unhappy one for her.

The winter passed off quietly, and with the spring the two armies
again took the field. The campaign of 1803 was, like its
predecessor, marred by the pusillanimity and indecision of the
Dutch deputies, who thwarted all Marlborough's schemes for bringing
the French to a general engagement, and so ruined the English
general's most skillful plans, that the earl, worn out by
disappointment and disgust, wrote to the Queen, praying to be
relieved of his command and allowed to retire into private life,
and finally only remained at his post at his mistress's earnest
entreaty.

The campaign opened with the s